The Child and A Black Cat
In one tale, a child and a black cat deliver the letter to the baker and return home immediately. The other version is this. The child, old enough to read, is emboldened by the message and decides to execute his mother’s breakup with a bombastic delivery. He just happens to have the right ammo and a crew to make the occasion memorable. Either way, the woman claims she was at home when a dozen chili grenades were set off at a bakery down the street from her apartment. Outside his storefront, a bewildered baker is surrounded by snickering neighbors, an ambulance, and a fire brigade. The baker shouts excitedly to onlookers; children did this! The kids who bombed the bakery had used smuggled stimulants intended for locker room hazing and afterparties. The blast inside the bakery has left a smoky, thrilling air that electrifies the street. The concentration of fumes is excruciating. The crowd lingers, all covering their faces. A strange communion is taking place. When a stretcher emerges from the baker’s establishment with the body of a boy, the crowd plunges into a brief moment of silence. Then the fire brigade turns on their water hose, and everyone runs for cover.
待續
Phantom Limbo
The street vendor is a simple thrill seeker. After he lost both hands in an accident, he had no other choice but to sell his entire fleet of snack carts. Without his morning occupation, he was soon bored. He missed making nibbles tested and approved by children, those kids who raced after the toll of the school bell to be the first ones to swarm around his cart. He could do little without his hands, so the children decided that he would be the lookout. He stood on the street corner, waiting to hear the baker’s roar upon the detonation of the chili grenades. He waited to see the faces of children racing past him. He waited until the smoke pierced his eyes. He thinks back to this moment of loitering on the corner that day, especially when he cannot sleep during long, post-surgery nights. When the street vendor is well enough to leave his cabin for meals and walks, he makes note of the serene and charged looks upon other patients’ faces. But he does not venture far before returning to his cabin in sulking silence, unable to bear the clinical smog that hangs in the air at all times.
重新開機
當男孩終於蘇醒 ，他的身體已經生長成了一個年青人的模樣 。眼看幾個月過去了 ，他還在逐漸地適應新 福祉所帶來的得與失 。
當 G C轉 這位年青人舉止含蓄 ，除了極少的時刻 —— S 換器激起他的好奇心 。至於程序員 ，如果他不在 實驗室裡做實驗 ，他會爬上山去拜訪僧人住持 。這個寺院俯瞰著肥沃的山谷 ，那裏仍然撒滿了點點青綠 的農田 。 住持建議舉行一個命名儀式 ，以見證這位年青人脫胎換骨的新生 。
儀式當天 ，這位年青人徒步爬上通往寺院的山路 。路上 ，他發現了一條狹窄的小徑 ，引他踏入一片廣 闊的 、種滿毒蛇辣椒的灌木林 。沿著一排辣椒樹 ，他在葉片之間摸索著，手指飛快地摘取一粒粒令他充 滿喜悅的紅色和橙色果實 ，直到新鮮的辣椒味由指尖漫上心頭 ，帶他重回到兒時的街道上 ，在記憶裡 ， 那時的他曾經和其他學童一起狼吞虎嚥著街邊小吃和飲料 。他多麼渴望回到那個願景之中徘徊 ，把自己 變回那個販賣無知的少主 。
他被一個聲音嚇了一跳 ，差點撒了剛收羅的滿手辣椒 。站在田邊的便是那位僧人住持 。 笑咪咪的住持一邊彷彿為他行法祝福著向他招手 ，一邊說 ： 吃辣椒 。
During a recent shift, his doctor carelessly mentions that at this moment, on the other side of the train, a sponsor is waiting to meet the street vendor. A sponsor can take care of the maintenance of your expensive new limbs. Such news of becoming a candidate rekindles the street vendor’s ambitious nature, and for the first time since coming aboard the surgery train he begins to feel like the winner of a lottery after all. He can finally sleep soundly. One evening, the street vendor decides to go for a different walk. He follows signs to reach the end of the surgery division. There is a handle and he pulls. A thin mist of pepper spray immediately envelops him, momentarily blinding him. As he retreats into his cabin in agony, his new limbs fumble over a white button near the entrance. A faint light bleeps as two camera pods emerge from behind the cabin walls, initiating a live video stream. On the other side of the train, sponsors receive a notice on their screens.
流逝的青春
男孩沈睡的這些年 ，街頭爆發了骚亂 。在這座城市還沒被大火湮滅前 ，程序員把整個研究所轉移了 ， 帶著沈睡的男孩 ，在遙遠的山谷中建立一個新的研究中心 。
至於那個女人和那隻黑貓 ，他們在逃離城市的時候撞上幸運之神 。他們遇到那位外籍專員 ，後者毫不 猶豫地伸出援手 ，以求婚來提供她逃離現狀的通道 。周圍的動盪並沒有影響這個女人的判斷力 ，在不 久的將來讓他感到不幸的是 ，女人接受他這般英雄救美並不意味她會以愛作為回應 。
她在無法避免的痛苦中活過來 而他經過迷戀之苦而變得意志堅強起來 。對這二位 自從爆炸案以來 ， ， 她與兒子被斷開聯繫 ，他與她只是曾 而言 ，凝聚在他們身上的某種忍耐力都是由離別的痛苦所賜 —— 經擦肩而過 。現在 ，命運為他們重新定位 ，才有了這齣讓他們理性重逢的戲 。
她什麼也沒說 ，只拎起自己的包和那隻黑貓 。隨著她的一個微微的點頭 ，他們開啟了撤到另一個國度 的避風海港之旅 。
Foreign Chili
Having recently brushed shoulders with a local neophiliac, the foreign gazetteer is well poised to speak of the convoluted misfortune that cascades from inexperienced infatuation. The gazetteer is sent to the harbor to document the arrival of chili imports and examine cargo contents. After he descends from the ship with a container filled with smuggled goods, he is confronted by a woman traveling with a child and a black cat. Taken by her beauty as well as the boldness of her demand, he foolishly accepts the terms of exchange. Weeks later, when the gazetteer is being instructed by a policeman to recall the meeting at the harbor, he is so utterly embarrassed by his own confession to bribery that he momentarily breaks out of the spell cast by the woman who traveled with the child and the black cat. The policeman is more concerned about uncovering the identity of the chili grenade maker. In his report, the officer makes note of the sailor who bribed the foreign gazetteer, but does not mention the woman who traveled with the child and the black cat. As for the foreign gazetteer, having served the role of a defenseless pawn in a larger plot of revenge, he is free to go.
火之布道
每年夏季末尾 ，在一周的經文朗誦開始之際 ，在到訪的僧人們抵達酒店的前一夜 ，酒店大廚為附近居 民準備一場戶外盛宴 。他為每個人提供美味相當的餐食 。這個宴會不僅熱鬧非凡 ，它還為人們提供了 相互親密嘲諷的機會 ，使得這個活色生香的美食宴一直持續到深夜 。
一群狂妄不羈的青年的到來使大廚跟著浮躁不安起來 。這群人看來異常 ，不同於那群從模擬中心離開的 無精打采的少年 。他們腳下生風 ，被撩高的衣服下擺顯耀著白色的繃帶 ，毫不掩飾那些被移植的神經 受體之幽靈 。
大廚曾聽過傳言 ，說有些少年是再犯 ，他們一次次重返模擬中心 ，每次交換更多的神經受體讓自己獲 取對鎮痛藥物更高的忍耐度 。
為什麼不教訓教訓這群少年 ？ 他也喜歡沒事找事 ，於是心生一計 ：能讓炫耀的傷口蹙縮的只有那股徹 底讓人發麻的辛辣灼痛感 。大廚隱身到他的廚房裡 ，摩拳擦掌 ，尋找僧人釀製的辣椒醬 。是時候結束 派對了 。
盯著霓虹 的斑斕 獨自發呆 Spaced Out To Different Tones Of Neon Splendor
Leaving the police station that day, the gazetteer is stunned by his unwitting involvement in fueling a prank by which a life almost perished. With a brush of luck, he has dodged being the culprit of a blow-up. He walks aimlessly, invigorated by the need to distance himself from the ferocity of disappointment. As he reaches familiar streets, still holding on to the waning fragrance of shortlived infatuation, anger begins to amplify. He scrutinizes the landscape of his own pathetic misery, determined to come up with a defense for this recent undoing. What a hellhole to call home, he concludes. And with this assertion, his mind turns to the impoverished children who detonated chilli grenades inside the bakery, these little aggressors born into suffering conditions, parading vulgarity; they are the real cause for ruined relationships. The gazetteer takes pause upon reaching a bridge, remarking that without the conduits put in place by foreign merchants such as himself, these children may never thrive from the otherwise excess of trade linking their city to his. He decides that he will visit the bakery in the morning and offer his condolences to the baker without disclosing his own meddling in the affair.
空洞的神經受體
脫皮至深 ，使皮下組織的神經受體受刺激 ，頓時便產生強烈的灼痛感 ，足以讓任何喜新成癖者止步於 此 。
每當節日季節開始時 ，青少年們都會聚集在模擬中心外面 ，為掙外快來此碰碰運氣 。卵子和有生殖力 的年輕精子已經過時了 。現在 ，獲得最高競價的是喜新成癖者的神經受體 。當他們逐個被問起自己近 期的各類活動 ，每個候選人都爭相誇誇其談 ，指望自己的大膽行徑和年少的神經受體能擔保獲得高的競 價 。如果不這樣 ，這些冒險鬼哪裡有本錢來支付一個間隔年或過上比原先更好的生活 ？
然而 ，大多候選人都不符合選擇標準 ，他們都帶著受傷的表情離開模擬中心 ，但不需幾個小時他們便 恢復了原狀 。只有少數的年青人進入到下一輪提取神經受體的實驗 ，而之後的數週內 ，他們將在康復 會所裡靠一系列讓人上癮的鎮痛藥物活著 ，以不同的姿態癱在理療隧道里的床上 ，盯著霓虹的斑斕獨自 發呆 。
For those who thrive on pleasurable burns, a jar of chili paste made by monks extends beyond a religious undertaking; it is the spice-branded imprint of a godly smack in the face. The hotel chef is a life-time advocate of chili paste pulverized by monks’ hands. With each year’s passing, the chef gradually uncoils his miserly ways, reminded by the existence of small batches of chili paste that he too must put his kitchen in the service of preserving lost flavors. Outside the hotel, while human palates have started to pale from the blandness of massproduced food, vending machines have begun to blossom on every street corner. Trust the monks to apply the human touch! The chef employs this motto generously as he reprimands unfit staff, as he puts together yet another menu for the season, as he scrapes out the last smearing of chili paste from the bottom of a near empty glass jar, and ever more so as he takes note of his own aging.
此時 ，他在觀察廳望著沉睡的男孩 ，困惑與人體復原的力量來源 。痛苦和愉悅的交織點其實就滋長與 肌膚的深淺之間 。一個燈泡在他的思緒裡亮起 。
程序員當下便決定他不會為此事件辭職 。這些年來 ，他一直操作機械化的實驗 ，現在是時候他著手與 解鎖人體化學修復的密碼了 。他大步地走到上級的辦公室 ，坦誠自己在辣椒手榴彈事件的責任 ，同時 要求上級為他提供資金 ，開發一個新的神經學研究領域 。 這個男孩沉睡了好幾年 。直到騷亂開始 ，女人和黑貓一直是他唯一的訪客 。
Anatomy Of A Chilihead
The street vendor is transfixed by the tray of red pigment placed between him and his sponsor. Without a doubt, the crimson is Sudan dye. This realization shudders him out of boredom. He cannot help but lament the fact that the start of his new life will be blemished by the presence of a toxin meant for defiling human pathways and intestines. With his old repertoire, the street vendor had been the master of addictive manipulation. He had used such food dyes to spike up dull dipping sauces and brighten old chili flakes. But now that he is down on both knees waiting to reset his life, an element from his previous life has reappeared and mocks him. The street vendor shudders as the nurse picks up the tray and prompts the sponsor to dab a stained finger across his own temples. When it comes to the street vendor’s turn, he cringes as if hearing the powdered dye laughing in revenge. While he completes the task, he imagines its venom seeping through his body. But there is no averting from the sponsor’s firm gaze. He had signed the retainer and has accepted the terms of their future bond. The tables have turned somehow, and the street vendor is now on the receiving end of a karmic rotation. He reaches for the sponsor’s hand.
辣椒研磨機
當程序員看到一個昏迷的男孩被護送到模擬中心時 ，他知道 ，追尋辣椒手榴彈的警察遲早會找上門來 。
在 他 的 副 業 收 入 里 ， 除 了 向 餐 館 和 街 頭 小 販 提 供 G C測 S 試生產剩餘的廢料 ，讓他最引以為豪的非辣椒手 他研製的辣椒手榴彈無意間在海外黑市一炮而紅。他早聽說了 ，辣椒手榴彈的轟炸導致這 榴彈莫屬 —— 個男孩一直昏迷不醒 。他現在知道大劑量的辣椒煙霧會對兒童產生致命傷害 。但讓他最感到痛惜的是 ， 他在海外的地下網絡很快會被曝光 。 出於好奇和負罪感 ，程序員前往隔離室親眼一看究竟 。
他看到沉睡的男孩身邊守護著一個帶著黑貓的女人 。模擬中心候選人里算這個孩子最為年輕 ，因此也採 取了一些破例的特別待遇 。儘管這個男孩被爆炸擊倒 ，至少他內臟無損 ，而女人也為男孩爭取到最好的 治療 。
到 目 前 為 止 ， 程 序 員 在 實 驗 室 里 守 候 了 長 達 數 月 的 時 光 ， 觀 摩 G C在 S 模擬池里突破性的表現 ，實驗結 果讓他臨近狂喜 。他曾摘下無數個模擬手套 ，那些用不同材質訂製而成的手套，用於模擬人類皮膚的觸 感 ，讓它們在不同的力度下捻壓著烤過的辣椒 ，以更貼近那被力度不均的手指所擠壓而釋放的 ，那千錘 百鍊過後的煙燻辣味 。
上天賞 賜的一 响耳光 A Godly Smack In The Face
Fruit Scammers
The first day that the Great Chilli Stimulator made mangoes weep, the shoppers embraced its sensational achievement with a citywide celebration. On that day, GCS became a city legend. Injecting the news was a good start. A simulator was about to arrive at Mango Grove. People alerted friends and family. Vending machines restocked in preparation for the day. During the switch, onlookers stood spellbound, transmitting live feeds from their devices. A deafening volume of pure capsaicin was pumped under the skin of mango trees. GCS was instructed to elevate the pungency beyond the recommended level of ingestion for a humid afternoon, so much that each mango ripened with a sweet, tearful piquancy capable of numbing any chilihead’s perception of burning pain. Indeed, the next day, the harvest did not disappoint. A queue of salivating folks waited anxiously to take home their box quota of naturally infused Chili Mango. As more and more queued in anticipation, they called out to vending machines to appease interim yearnings with plastic sachets filled with snacks, fresh bottled juice, and leaf-wrapped rice. It was an epic scene of flavors exploding in the street. All because of a simple, winning formula. Chili Mango at its peak harvest.
GCS
G C即 S 簡單也直白 ，這一類型的臨場轉換器對感受或味覺神經受體無動於衷 。神奇辣椒模擬轉換器既 不會感到快感 ，也不會感到疼痛 。
它可以做任何人類都無法做到的事情 ，它可以通過注射合成添加劑 ，在果實的來源處徹底改變它的口 味 。它可以無差別地捕捉到味蕾的缺席 。在惡劣天氣降臨之前 ，它可以察覺到 ，并趕到社區里 ，化 為鼓舞人心的先導 。它管轄的神奇的化學反應啟示 ，可植入到人的慾望中 ，刺破他們的胃口 。無論 何時何地 ，它的出現立即召喚來那些尋求刺激的人 。
任何有機物都可以被注入與其真實味道產生共鳴的辣味 。當然了 ，並非每次轉換的結果都是成功的 。 某些水果的模擬豐收從一開始就注定會失敗 。比如說 ，沒人要那一盒盒毛茸茸的被蒼白毒焰扎透的蜜 桃兒 。
GCS GCS is simple and straightforward. This type of field contractor is unabashed about feelings or palate receptors. The Great Chili Simulator cannot feel thrill, nor pain. It can do what no humans can, altering the food source at its origin by injecting synthetic additives. It can reach for the voids in tastebuds without discrimination. It can detect poor weather conditions and become a precursor for boosting neighborhood morale. It can implant desire and pierce appetites with a miraculous chemical revelation. Its very presence summons thrill seekers. Anything organic can be infused with a burn that resonates with its host’s authentic flavor. Naturally, not every switch is successful. Some simulation harvests were doomed to fail from the beginning. No one wanted, for example, the boxes of fuzzy peaches spiked with ghostly viper flames.
水果炸騙機
不 久 前 ， 神 奇 辣 椒 模 拟 器 （ G C） S 成為了都市傳奇 。那天 ，它的催熟計畫不僅成功地促使芒果哭泣 ， 而購買者不僅目睹了豐收的碩果 ，隨即掀起滿城追捧的浪潮 。
催熟的第一天 ，注入的新聞便帶來了好兆頭 。它使路人陷入瘋狂 。轉換器剛要到達芒果園路附近 ， 人們便開始奔走相告 。自動售食機也為這天做好補貨的準備 。啟動轉換器的那一瞬間 ，周邊的圍觀者 都停下腳步 ，個個看得出神的同時 ，在自己的移動設備上傳輸著這次實況直播 。此時 ，讓人耳根發 麻 的 、 巨 大 容 量 的 純 辣 椒 素 正 在 被 轉 換 器 注 射 到 芒 果 樹 的 表 皮 下 。 G C收 S 到指令 ，這次注射液的辛辣 度要有所提高 ，濃度要超過專家為潮濕下午所推薦的辛辣入食標準 ，而如此一來 ，每個熟透的芒果都 忍不住流出了一串串甜辣的淚痕 ，這眼淚足以麻痺任何嗜辣者的灼痛感 。
確實 ，第二天的收成並未令人失望 。一排排垂涎三尺的人們焦急地排著隊 ，想早點把自己那份配額 好 的 經 天 然 注 射 的 辛 辣 芒 果 帶 回 家 。 隨 著 越 來 越 多 的 人 排 隊 ， 在 翹 首 盼 望 的 同 時 ，他 們 召 來 越 來 越 多 的自動售食機 ，爭先恐後地購買著用塑料袋包裹好的零食 、新鮮瓶裝的果汁 、和大葉包米飯來解饞 。 這味覺膨脹的場面在街道上蔓延開 。引爆這一切的僅僅是因為一道簡單而易於成功的公式程序 。那處 於豐收期頂峰的辛辣芒果 。
注入的新 聞便帶來 了好兆頭 Injecting The News Was A Good Start
The Chili Grinder
When the programmer sees the body of an unconscious boy arriving to the Simulation Center, he knows that it will only be a matter of time before the police trace the chili grenades to him. Along with his side hustle supplying residual waste from GCS testing to restaurants and street vendors, the programmer is most proud of his chili grenades, which had grown to be an inadvertent, underground hit in black markets overseas. He heard about the boy who suffered the blow of the chili grenade. Now he knows that large doses of chili fumes can be lethal to children, but most of all he laments the fact that his underground network abroad will soon be exposed. Out of curiosity and guilt, the programmer visits the isolation room to see for himself. He sees a woman with a black cat presiding over the sleeping boy. Certain exceptions have been made since her child is the youngest candidate at the Simulation Center. The boy may be knocked out by the blast, but at least everything is intact, and she makes sure he gets the best treatment available. Until now, the programmer had spent months standing around the simulation pit, entranced by GCS’ breakthrough performance. He’d removed countless stained and battered gloves made from various materials to simulate human touch, applying different thresholds of force to the simulation gloves, coming close to capture that labored, smoky essence only released by the uneven pressure of human fingers.
對嗜辣者的深度解剖
街頭小販呆若木雞地盯著放在他和資助人之間的一盤紅色顏料 。
毫無疑問 ，這深紅顏料便是蘇丹紅 。這點使本陷入沈悶中的他不寒而慄 。他不禁哀嘆自己新生活的美好 開端被玷污了的事實 ，而事主竟是一種旨在破壞人體通道和腸道的毒素 。
在他的老本行里 ，街頭小販可是個勾引食客上癮的操縱大師 。他曾用過這種實用色素為蘸醬增色 ，使褪 色的辣椒片添彩 。可當下 ，當他雙膝下跪等著開啟自己的新生活 ，昔日的老相識重現 ，還嘲笑著他 。 當護士拿起托盤 ，并提示著資助人用沾滿顏料的手指點在自己的太陽穴上 ，街頭小販不禁渾身顫慄 。
等輪到街頭小販 ，畏縮不前的他彷彿聽到了粉狀的染料發出了復仇的獰笑聲 。執行指令的那刻 ，他想像 著一股毒液由自己的太陽穴滲入體內 。而他無法逃避資助人的堅定眼神 。他已經簽署了聘用金 ，也接受 了今後他兩人二體合一的條件 。 局勢的轉變 ，讓街頭小販見證了命運輪迴的逆轉 。他向資助人伸出了手 。
Now watching the sleeping boy from the observation booth, he puzzles over the power of a body’s recovery. The fulcrum of pain and pleasure is really only skin deep. A light bulb goes off in his head. The programmer decides then and there that he will not resign. After all these years of operating exclusively on machines, the time has come for him to put his hands upon the magic of human chemesthesis. He marches into his superior’s office to claim responsibility for the chili grenade and demands funding for a new field of neurological research. The boy sleeps for years. The woman and the black cat remain his only visitors until the riots begin.
辣椒醬傳教士
對於那些嗜辣並樂在其中的人來說 ，一罐由僧人釀製的辣椒醬甚至超越了神學宗旨的範圍 ；這種辛辣 所產生的烙印 ，足以應召了上天賞賜的一响耳光 。
一直以來 ，酒店大廚對由僧人親手搗碎而成的辣椒醬情有獨鍾 。隨著時間的流逝 ，大廚逐漸敞開了自 己小肚雞腸的胸懷 ，他被這種小批產量的辣椒醬的存在所感染 ，提醒自己必須把他的廚房用來捍衛即 將遺失的口味 。而酒店外 ，由於長期食用單調的工業食品 ，人們的味蕾開始退化 ，與此同時 ，自動 售食機開始在街頭小巷遍地開花 。
此乃僧人慈悲之道 ！ 大廚常常以此言傳身教 ，每當他斥責不稱職的員工 ，每當他為換季準備新的 菜單 ，每當他從一個幾近空的玻璃罐底刮下最後一抹辣椒醬 ，每當他分外留意到自己衰老的印跡 。
那執迷不 悔的單戀 里殘存的 餘香 The Waning Fragrance of Short-Lived Infatuation
Phantom Receptors
Exfoliate too much, and you get to that thin layer of inner skin that alarms the receptors and deters neophiliacs from going too far with the burning sensation. At the beginning of each festive season, adolescents would gather outside the Simulation Center to test their luck gaining some quick cash. Eggs and virile, young sperm are out of fashion; now the highest bids go to receptors from neophiliacs at their prime. When asked about their recent activities, each candidate is eager to boast, expecting their daring activities and youthful receptors to guarantee a high bid. After all, how else will these daredevils pay for a gap year or get a boost in life? Most candidates do not meet the criteria, however, and they leave the center with a scarred sort of look from which they recover after a few hours. Of the few that make it to the next trial level of receptor removal, weeks are spent in the recovery hall hooked up to drugs, variously splayed out on beds in the rehabilitation tunnel, spaced out to different tones of neon splendor.
離開了警局 ，這位外籍專員感到一陣陣的後怕 ：自己無意中助長了一個惡作劇的展開 。而這場惡作劇 幾乎導致一個生命隕落 。憑著點運氣 ，他竟然躲過了參與爆炸案的同謀者罪名 。
他漫無目的地在街上遊蕩著 ，鼓足了勁兒想擺脫肆虐的失望所帶來的全身不適 。當他步入昔日熟悉的街 道時 ，還牽掛著那執迷不悔的單戀里殘存的餘香 ，幾乎無法自拔 ，但一股怒火在他體內升起 。他審視 自己的慘狀 ，決定為自己的紅顏之禍辯護一番 。
他放言 ：生在這般地獄還能苟且偷生 。 有了如此確信的口氣 ，他把注意力轉向了那群在麵包坊引爆辣 椒手榴彈的孩子們 ，他們都是一個個生於苦難之中的小痞子 ，他們向來喜歡賣弄低俗作怪 ；他們才是 造成關係破裂的真正緣由 。走到一座橋前 ，這位外籍專員感悟到 ，如果沒有像他本人的外國商人在這 座城市和他的老家之間建立貿易聯繫 ，並為當地人帶來福利 ，這些孩子可能永遠不會從貿易中獲益 。
他決定早上去趟麵包坊 ，向麵包師表示慰問，但他並不打算透露自己在這場愛恨情仇里的干係 。
一個陌生 的儀式正 凝結在空 氣之中 A Strange Communion Is Taking Place
The Fire Sermon
At the end of each summer, the evening before the monks arrive for a weeklong scripture reading, the hotel chef prepares an outdoor feast for the neighborhood. He feeds everyone equally, and the gathering jostles with lively banter, the sharing of intimate revelations, and delirious feasting late into the night. The arrival of a band of vagrant youth unnerves the chef. Something is off about this group, different from the anemic teenagers he’d seen discharged from the Simulation Center. These teenagers move swiftly, and the hems of their clothing are pulled up, flaunting the ghosts of removed receptors beneath menacing looking bandages. The chef has heard rumors that some teenagers are repeat offenders, returning time and time again to the Simulation Center to exchange more receptors for higher tolerance to the analgesic treatment. Why not teach these teenagers a lesson? He’s got pranks up his sleeve as well: boastful wounds can only cower at the deafening vengeance of chili burn. The chef rubs his hands together in anticipation as he disappears into the kitchen to find jars of the monastery-made chili paste. Time to shut the party down.
番椒
對於單戀的感悟 ，有位外籍專員頗有體會 。他迷戀上的本地人正好是個喜新成癖者 ，羽毛未豐的他看不 到這段摩肩而過的癡情愛慕的背後 ，厄運即將在他身上降臨 。
有天 ，這位外籍專員被派到港口 ，執行進口辣椒的成品交易紀錄 ，並清點集裝箱 。事後 ，當他獨自提 著一箱走私品從船上走下來 ，迎面而來的是一個領著孩子 、帶著黑貓的女人 。頓時他為她的美貌和強大 的氣勢而傾倒 ，並愚蠢地接受了她提出的交換條件 。
幾週後 ，當警察命令他回憶那天在港口的會面 ，這位外籍專員承認自己受賄 ，面對認罪感他無地自容 ， 產生愧過的同時讓他暫時清醒起來 ，致使他掙脫了那個女人下的魔咒 ，那個領著孩子 、帶著黑貓的女人 的魔咒。
讓警方更棘手的是揭露辣椒手榴彈製造者的真實身份 。警察在報告中記下了行賄外籍專員的船員 ，但未 提及那個領著孩子 、帶著黑貓的女人 。至於這位外籍專員 ，他被攪入他人的復仇大計之中 ，其扮演的 角色還是個毫無還手之力的小卒 ，足以讓他無罪釋放 。
Wasted Youth
While the boy sleeps, riots break out on the streets. Before the city goes up in flames, the programmer uproots his entire lab, bringing the sleeping boy with him to establish a new research center in a faraway valley. As for the woman and the black cat, they also find luck while fleeing the city. They run into the foreign gazetteer who, without a second’s hesitation, offers his hand and free passage. The turmoil has not affected the woman’s judgement though, so accepting the gazetteer’s chivalry does not compound, to his misfortune, with feelings of love. Since the explosion, she has lived through unnecessary wreckage, and he has come out strong from the undue pain of infatuation. For both, certain endurances have sprouted from the pain of uncoupling—her from her son, and him from her. Now fate reorients them into a pragmatic reunion. She says nothing and picks up her bag and the black cat. With a simple nod, they set off to retreat to some foreign harbor destination.
一次輪班中 ，他的醫生漫不經心地提到 ，此時此刻 ，在火車的另一頭 ，有一位資助人正等著與這位 街頭小販見面 。 資助人可以捐贈你今後維修新義肢的昂貴費用 。
得知他有機會獲得資助 ，街頭小販那顆渴望再展宏圖的野心被點燃 ，自從登上這輛手術列車以來 ，這 是他第一次覺得自己真的中了彩 。終於他可以安然地睡一覺了 。
有天晚上 ，街頭小販決定嘗試換個方向遛彎 。順著指示牌 ，他走到手術部的盡頭 。看到一個把手 ， 他便伸手去拉下它 。立即繚繞住街頭小販的是一股稀薄的胡椒噴霧 ，直噴到他一時間睜不開眼 。在一 陣混亂的痛苦掙扎中 ，他轉退回自己的病房 ，他的新義肢在門口附近不停地摸索時 ，無意中按到白色 的按鈕 。霎時間一道律動的微光射了進來 ，兩部攝像頭由病房的牆後探了出來 ，實時直播信號立即被 開啟 。 在列車的另一端 ，資助人們看到屏幕上一條直播的提示 。
並非每次 轉換的結 果都是成 功的 Not Every Switch Is Successful
Restart When the boy finally awakes, his body has become that of a young man. Months goes by as he adjusts to the losses and gains of his new welfare. The young man remains reserved, except for rare moments when his curiosity is activated by the presence of GCS machines. As for the programmer, when not tinkering in the lab, he hikes up the mountain to visit the abbot. The monastery overlooks a fertile valley that is still peppered with leafy pellets of farmland. The abbot suggests a naming ceremony to commemorate a new beginning for the young man. On the day of the ceremony, the young man treks up to the monastery ground. He discovers a narrow path that leads to a vast green field dotted with viper chili. He works his way through one row, fingers snapping off delightful reds and oranges until the scent of fresh chili pepper rubs off on his mind, taking him back to the streets where he used to gobble up peddled snacks and drinks with other school children. How he longs to linger in that past vision, to be the young master of unplanned trafficking. He is startled by a voice and almost drops his hot goods. Standing at the edge of the field is the head monk. The smiling abbot waves him on as if beckoning a blessing and says, Eat a chili.
幻影凌波
這 位 街 頭 小 販 本 來 就 是 一 個 平 凡 、 喜 歡 尋 求 刺 激 的 人 。 在 一 次 事 故 中 失 去 雙 手 後 ， 他 別 無 選 擇 ，只 能 賣掉整個街邊小吃車隊 。沒有了這份能占用一大清早的活兒 ，他很快就感到百無聊賴 。他念念不忘自 己曾經為孩子們烹製過的拿手街頭小吃 ，每樣拿手小吃都是孩子們一致認可的 ，吸引著他們在學校鐘聲 敲響後 ，個個爭相恐後地衝到他的手推車前 。
沒了手他也起不了什麼作用 ，所以孩子們決定由他把風 。於是他守在街角 ，等著辣椒手榴彈被引爆 ， 聽到麵包師發出的嚎叫 。等著逃跑的孩子們 ，看到他們的臉龐從自己面前一晃而去 。他一直等著 ，直 到瀰漫的煙霧開始刺痛他的雙眼 。
守候在拐角處的那一刻 ，尤其是在手術結束後漫長的夜裏 ，即使晝夜未眠 ，回放起那一刻都讓他回味 無窮 。
當街道小販恢復到自己可以獨自離開病房出去吃飯和散步 ，他發現其他病人的神態是那麼寧靜而充滿張 力 。 但 是 他 自 己 呢 ， 總 是 不 願 意 走 遠 ， 不 到 一 會 兒 就 悶 悶 不 樂 地 遛 回 自 己 的 病 房 里 ，極 度 無 法 忍 受 那 股懸在半空的診所氣味 。
To be Continued
孩子與黑貓
據說 ，那個孩子和一隻黑貓將信送到麵包坊 ，便立即回了家 。
這個故事卻有另一個版本 。那個孩子剛過閱讀的年齡 ，在自己偷讀了信後 ，被信的內容所鼓舞 ，擅自 決定採取爆炸式的手段去捍衛母親這次的分手 。剛好 ，他有合適的彈藥和夥伴們 ，陪他炮製一個令人 難忘的場面 。無論故事的起源是什麼 ，當十二枚辣椒炸彈被投放到她家附近臨街的麵包坊的那一刻 ， 女人聲稱自己正在家中 。
麵包坊外 ，站著一個盛怒的麵包師 ，他身邊圍繞了一群竊笑著的鄰居 、一輛救護車 、和一支消防隊 。 麵包師控制不住而向圍觀者喊著 ：都是小孩鬧的亂子 ！
轟炸這家麵包坊的孩子們搞到一批走私來的興奮劑 ，通常用於惡作劇和午夜會場 。麵包坊的爆炸所引發 的彈霧撲鼻而來 ，使附近街道的氣氛沸騰起來 。瀰漫的濃重煙霧令人髮指 。人群徘徊不散 ，雖然每個 人都捂著臉 。一個陌生的儀式正凝結在空氣之中 。
此時 ，從麵包坊裡抬出一支擔架 ，上面躺著一個男孩 ，人們瞬間陷入了短暫的沈默 。接著消防隊開通 了水車 ，躲雨的人群一哄而散 。